Ruth's Chris Steakhouse Crab Cakes1 pound lump crab meat 1 egg 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 3 tablespoons cracker meal (5 or 6 saltines, crushed) 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons Creole mustard 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon finely diced red bell pepper 1 tablespoon finely diced green bell pepper Pick through crab meat, removing any shells. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg and parsley. Add cracker meal, mayonnaise, mustard and pepper; stir until thoroughly blended. Carefully fold in crab, trying not to break up crab pieces. (Mixture may be refrigerated up to 2 days before cooking.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a heavy baking sheet with sides or a shallow ovenproof skillet in the oven to heat. When pan is hot, drizzle surface with olive oil. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop crab mixture onto hot pan and flatten slightly. Bake about 10 minutes, until golden brown and hot on the inside. Arrange 2 crab cakes on a serving plate; garnish with diced bell peppers. Serve immediately with your favorite sauce. Yield: 12 crab cakes. NOTE: Baking (rather than the usual pan-frying) makes these soft-textured crab cakes easy to handle, but they are rather pale on top. For a better appearance, bake on the uppermost oven rack, or bake 10 minutes, turn the crab cakes, then bake 2 minutes more. |